Chapter 156 PMC

Chapter 156: PMC

Rem closed his mouth, which had dropped open in surprise as Li Hongshen finished eating. He turned to the side and bent down to pick up an unburned cigarette from the floor.

"Alright, the next step is to forget your habits as a child soldier and learn how to become a proper PMC. After that, you’ll report to the HCLI headquarters in Europe with the boss. Be prepared—the journey might not be so peaceful. If everything goes smoothly, there will be other missions waiting for us."

"Okay."

"Let’s go. I’ll take you to your room first so you can rest. We still have several days of travel ahead, and during that time I’ll do my best to teach you the PMC rules. Oh, by the way, you’re technically under me. Your contract is with my PMC company, but I’m not your boss—think of me as your team leader. The contract isn’t exactly legal in the usual sense; it’s more to make you aware of the terms. The money is held in a neutral bank, and any funds used to care for those orphans will be deducted from there.

Right now, you owe the boss $100,000. That money was used to relocate those orphans to a secure area, handle their legal paperwork, and place them in a reliable orphanage. After you repay this debt, your salary will be deposited into your own account. Until then, that card is basically useless to you."

As he walked, Rem pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Li Hongshen. Then he took out a heavily creased sheet of paper from another pocket—it was the contract he mentioned, looking anything but official.

"Honestly, kid, you really surprise me. Your combat skills, physical condition, even your language abilities. I’ve dealt with child soldiers before, but they don’t even speak English—they only know their local tongue. How did you learn all this? And what else have you studied?"

Li Hongshen glanced at the contract in his hand as he followed Rem down the corridor.

"It’s simple. Sometimes I go to the neutral zone on our side to deliver shipments—sometimes weapons, sometimes gold or diamonds."

"Oh, so they taught you because kids are easier to hide?"

"No, you’ve got the order wrong. I learned the languages first, then they let me start delivering."

"Hmm?"

"In the beginning, even kids in the organization sometimes got paid in dollars. I’d go to internet cafes in the neutral zone and learn from the computer. That’s how I learned English online. Besides that, I also studied math, physics, chemistry, and dipped into other languages—Chinese, Russian, French, Japanese, and so on.

I’ve even studied the manuals for US combat units, as well as tactics for British airborne troops and the French Foreign Legion. These are all loosely published online. If you jump through enough links and search carefully, you can find them.

Though it’s just text explanations, it’s enough for me to understand what those armies plan to do and what actions they might take. Especially knowing when the US calls in air support, when they strike from the air, or when they lay down fire coverage in certain zones.

Compared to those so-called rebels fighting for territory, dealing with regular armies is actually easier. Regular soldiers are highly skilled, heavily armed, accurate shooters, and their equipment is several levels above the rebels’. But their tactics are pretty much the same every time: first, suppressive fire; then snipers clear firing points; followed by assault troops moving in.

If they get pushed back or lose a few men, they call for air support. Then they either evacuate with medics or launch another assault under the cover of air fire. If the air support is threatened, they’ll likely retreat without regard for the troops below, dropping everything they can before pulling back.

If the air support gets shot down, they’ll probably launch rockets from nearby ships or bases. Other than that, there aren’t many variations—there might be some minor changes here and there, but the general procedure is as I described.

If you’re wondering how I know so much, it’s from my own experience. This is why I was able to survive seven years on the front lines as a child soldier."

Rem scratched his head in surprise at Li Hongshen’s answer. As a seasoned veteran, he had never met such a formidable child soldier before. He could also hear the disdain in Li Hongshen’s tone toward those ugly soldiers, who must have bombed him badly and caused him repeated losses.

Yet Rem did not underestimate Li Hongshen. Surviving seven years on the front lines, enduring multiple bombings, was impressive in itself.

Once inside a cabin, Rem handed Li Hongshen a pen.

"Li."

"Thanks," Li replied, taking the pen and signing the seemingly unreliable contract before handing it back.

He didn’t bother scrutinizing the terms or amounts. Money held little interest for him in this world, whose technology was mediocre and offered little value. Once he retrieved the Lord’s Heart later, he could simply buy a full set of industrial base technology from the main world’s marketplace—cheap, effective, and already energy-conversion capable, with no need for him to develop it from scratch.

"Alright, rest and regain your strength today. Tomorrow, I’ll start teaching you our team’s tactical manuals and communication methods."

"Okay, thank you."

"Get some rest early."

With that, Rem folded the contract and slipped it back into his pocket. As he headed toward the door, he paused.

"I know this might not be my place to say, but I want to remind you something. People like us have no borders. Forget your past. You’re a PMC now, and the first rule is this: you don’t belong to any organization, family, or faction.

We’re just employees of a company. Because of the nature of our work, we travel everywhere."

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(End of chapter)